Ginni Rometty

As to be expected at events in any industry, executives at the National Retail Federation's Big Show earlier this month lapsed into lazy talk, bandying about vague notions such as "customer-centric solutions," while ticking off hot retail buzz terms like "personalization" and "omnichannel selling" without always delivering concrete examples of what those terms will mean in 2014. But along with the nebulousness came some meaty insight on what's poised to revolutionize how retailers serve shoppers: big data. IBM Chairman and CEO Ginni Rometty did a good job of demystifyng the concept.